What is the different between the broad Safety+ and the new SafetyDesigner+ from B&R?
Is this a new implementation or delivery of the openSAFETY standard from B&R or is it a whole new development.
Please let me know if you have any insights into these developments, that includes any official B&R People or any engineer who has been to their booth at SPS 2024.
I’m not directly involved into the product development or similar, but I’ve been there yesterday and this is what I know by now.
Automation Studio Code
It’s not based on the VS Code extension (even if it looks very similar), it’s a new development (as I understood based on Eclipse Theia).
In the first step, it’s a new editor for modern software development based on the textual programming languages ST, C, C++, and will also support compile & transfer & debugging. It’s used together with Automation Studio 6 and accesses the same project data & files from the logical view. Additionally, the plugin ecosystem (like known from VS code) is also usable, for example for source control and so on.
More steps will follow, like optional cloud services e.g. for project management including source code editing and software deployment, interfaces to AI based services, and more.
About ST-OOP: yes this means Structured Text with Object Oriented Extensions like you mentioned and like defined in IEC 61131-3 version 3, and it will be released together with AS Code.
Safety+
It’s a new development in direction of editor and firmware. Like Tommi already wrote, it supports openSAFETY.
From a developers point of view, SafeDesigner+ makes a big step into the direction of modern software development for example by supporting text-based project files and therefore full support of version control systems, the support for CLI operations like build & transfer which gives developers the possibility to integrate also safety software into CI/DC pipelines.
HI @alexander.hefner, I have not had time to study about news presented on SPS2024. Can you make us summary here? Safety+ and Automation Studio Code look promising, what else you would advertise from out booth?
sure, I would really love to give a complete overview, but to be honest most of the time yesterday I was busy with very, very interesting conversations and insights about software development, project management, and data flow.
So even being 8 hours on the booth, I wasn’t able to dig deeper into all topics presented … one day just isn’t enough
The IoT Connector also drawed much of my attention.
In very short words: it’s a containerized app that can run on different hardware like the X20 Edge module, APC, or even for example on a server inside the own company infrastructure. It provides different free configurable connectors to exchange data with PLCs (using OPC UA or ANSL for example) and can “push” those data to different other platforms e.g. using MQTT. It also includes functionality like “find PLCs in the network”, asset management, and much more. Also, B&R develops more Apps based on data collected by the IoT connectors like ACOPOStrak Monitor, which is an App that monitors conditions and actions on a running Trak system including model-based predictive maintenance informations.
But also the new PC platforms APC3200 and APC2300, the AI based Vision systems and the ACOPOS P3 up to 80kW, and many more new products were very interesting for me personally.
As I said, unfortunately I ran out of time to go deeper into each topic…
A bit more insight can be found on the B&R homepage:
There were also many running mechatronical demos at the booth showing functionality and components in action, and I’ve seen that camera teams where active the whole day. So I’m really looking forward to the publishing of some videos after the fair is finished where we can get an visual impression that is much better then I can describe it in my own words
Thanks Alexander. I highlighted some key words to get focus of others B&R web page as well as linkedin account is full of marketing message about news. But, for me personally, notes from experts like you without marketing words have better value So thanks for your overview. I hope that others from community will add here their findings/feelings from our booth
I appreciate your info greatly. It sounds like B&R is putting a lot of time and effort into their software, which is great.
I currently have an interest in learning OOP Design Patterns using different platforms, so it would be awesome to get the chance to do so with B&R whenever AS Code comes out.
also I just saw these on B&R’s YouTube page. Some marketing stuff but it does show off the SafetyEditor+. I wonder what kind of new hardware B&R is going to make for Safety+ (their own light curtains? estops? maybe guard doors with openSafety and ethernet POWERLINK???)
in the first steps, Safety+ will address the new, modern software engineering approach including also easier variant management, commissioning options and so on.
Existing safety hardware like IO, SafeMotion will be still supported (except of SafeLogic and SLX variants as I understood, there will come sucessors). And sure, based on OpenSafety and Powerlink, including the today’s features like OpenSafety based SL-SL communication via UDP for example (OpenSafety is “only the container” for safe data exchange).
Sure, I can imagine that other new products will follow, and of course also new additional topics like Safety over OPC UA FX (there has still some definition work to be done from the OPC foundation).
But at sps fair, B&R mostly wants to show what’s coming up in near future (let’s say “within around one year”). I think that’s the reason why the focus of Safety+ was set on safety software engineering, since software and firmware is the base for everything else … yes, in my heart I’m still a software developer, I have to say so
B&R web page as well as linkedin account is full of marketing message about news. But, for me personally, notes from experts like you without marketing words have better value 